Eel Mouth - 10/10

Did lunch at the mouth of the river today.  It's 5 minutes from my house, and I've been wanting to check out the newly improved public access boat ramp at Pedrazini Park.  The construction company is almost done, so I'll have to wait a few more days to launch from there.  Headed down to the end of Cannibal Island road to Crab Park and launched there.  High tide launch was easy to say the least - flat water 25' from the tailgate across a very slight grass and sand slope.  The high tide caused swells to move into certain areas where sandy shoals created little breaks, so it was a careful paddle in the misty and forboding channels just inside the mouth of the river.  I trolled a chovie briefly, but the seals were buzzing me and it just didn't feel like I was in the spot.  I investigated a buoy that looked like it had been lost for a long time - you need a lot stronger motor than my arm to move that thing!  I'll be getting back to check that new boat ramp soon.  The fishing water is much more pleasant up there along the north and east sides of Cock Robin Island.  Over the years I've found it very very difficult to hook a salmon in the estuary of the river.  It's less than 10 minutes from 101 to the launch at Pedrazini Park.  The big fish potential will be there until the rains bring the river up enough for the fish to move up.  Later when crab season starts there are great Dungeness opportunities down there including midnight crabbing on opening night.  I did that a couple of years ago - what a blast.   

what a neat spot!  once they fix the ramp, would you be intersted in guiding a few south bayers to that spot?  Wondering if the muddiness of the water throws the bite off?

Sweat! I'm starting to get that "Road Trip" feeling again.

That looks awesome, I would love to make that trip, too!
John

Hehehe...you said "Cock Robin Island"!!!
Great report! Looks like a fun place to paddle.
PK

Thanks for the report! Nice to be able to get it firsthand from someone right there.
That ramp is gonna be nice compared to what it used to be.

Looks like a good time.

Don't mind PK. Sometimes he forgets that he's not in jr high anymore

FF

That looks SWEET AK!   are there RF available(next year of coarse)

Thanks for the PICS&port......those places sound scary(and funny!)

would you be intersted in guiding a few south bayers to that spot? 

Absolutely!  Do I have to change my name to "the lonely yakker" or "ComeFishW/Me"?!   I would love to hookup.

Wondering if the muddiness of the water throws the bite off?

When the real rains hit the Eel will be totally unfishable due to mud.  The water at the mouth was nasty yesterday, but it was nothing compared to the mud flow that will come.  Upstream around Cock Robin Island the water is clearer or green most of the time.  The tidal action causes variations in clarity all the way up around Fernbridge, a few miles upstream of the mouth. 

I drove back by the ramp today and the construction foreman told me it'll be ready for use this weekend.

When we crab down there it's only when the river is down enough for it - too much fresh/mud water and the crabbing is poor, not to mention more potential for danger.  I don't like Dungeness that much, but pulling pots and rings on the yak is a blast.

Not really any rockfish down there, Adam - it's all sand and driftwood.  Perch fisherman do well, and I've seen some people eeling in the past.

If you have a minute I'll share an awesome mouth of the Eel story from about 20 years ago:  we were hanging out at Crab Park (mouth of the river) crabbing from a little aluminum boat, cooking them on the beach, and drinking beer when we saw two men and two younger boys walking toward us from the breaker area around the mouth.  They had a big king around 25 pounds.  We were impressed and checking out the fish as the guy carrying it showed it off.  They had a couple little trout rods.  We asked if they caught it with those and the guy says, "you bet!  Here's where it was hooked" - and he sticks his knife into a hole in the fish's head that was the size of a pencil eraser.  They walked off with their fish, laughing all the way to the truck.  It was a young and stupid moment for me as my buddy's dad filled me in that it looked like they'd shot that fish with a .22.  We wondered about how they'd done it, so the next day I returned to the scene at the same time of the tide.  There were little surges of water coming in as the tide came up - they were like 1' high waves that would slowly spread across the entire area one at a time every 5 minutes or so.  In between these surges the water would slowly drain back out of the area.  I watched this happening and realized that there were two distinct channels showing - one was the true channel of the river, and one was a dead-end channel.  The water was draining off when I saw wakes in the dead-end channel.  Fish were coming in with the tidal surge and some of them were heading up this wrong channel.  I waded out toward the wakes as the water drained off.  As I got up toward the dead-end of the channel (picture dozens of acres of water 1-2' deep with this dead-end channel being 2-3' deep only) I could see that I was in effect corraling a few big kings up into the shallowest water.  My heart was racing as I pushed them to the point of making decisions.  Two big fish raced off to my right, another went to my left.  There was one big king left.  I could clearly see it in about 1' of water.  I pursued it all the way to where it would have started coming out of the water when it turned and hit the throttle toward my left and very close to me.  I didn't know what the hell I intended to do - not take the fish, but I was on a thrill ride!  As I put my left leg out to block it, the chinook quickly veered right of my leg and swam right between my legs, splashing me as it whistled through!  I was so stoked to have had a high energy interaction with such a big fish.  I think I scared them out of there, because I couldn't make it happen again in an hour of trying, and the tide came in.   

Very cool story Abking. That would have been exciting as a kid.

FF

that road looks like some lonely road in baja, except it's paved,  .

What's the shark situation in the mouth of the river there?

great story from the days of the ab-prince!

J

What's the shark situation in the mouth of the river there?

I think you can catch a mud or leopard shark up in some of the side sloughs, but as far as GWS, it's a pretty shallow estuary with breakers to navigate in order to go in and out from the ocean to the river and vice-versa.  I've never heard of any sharks being around the mouth and definitely not in the river.  (without consciously intending to I'm knocking on wood right now!   )

historically rivermouths are often good surfing and very sharky (in the sense of the kind that
bite surfers et. al.) the world over.

the breaking waves pics were interesting. I've met guys that used a kayak to tow the surfboard
out to an otherwise difficult to reach break (like in big sur), but never combined my surfing
and kayaking in that way myself.

J

the breaking waves pics were interesting.

I didn't get anywhere near them, John.  I know the mouth of the Eel River to be a deadly place.  It's constantly changing.  I was watching large logs in the breakers in some areas.  One day years ago I pulled up and was watching the sunset and letting the dog have a run and I thought I saw something out in the breakers of the mouth.  I looked closer and saw it was a person!  This was pre-cell phone for me, or I may have called 911.  I kept watching and came to realize there was a guy on a jet-ski coming toward me.  He came in to the beach and told me his buddy broke down out in the breakers of the mouth as they were jumping waves out there!  I considered him insane.  It was my buddy Tim from Ferndale who originally took me fishing and ab diving from an aluminum boat out at Cape Mendocino.  He is one psycho dude!  So he leaves his buddy, Kervin, out there floating with his broken down jet-ski in the current-laden breakers of the river mouth in a wetsuit while he drives to the ranch for a spare part!  They were fine, but I still think of the breakers at the mouth of the river as somewhere I never want to be. 

When do the Kings Move in or are they already there?